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Logan County Deputies Investigating Homicide

PARIS — The body of a 33-year-old black male was found in the front yard of a house on North Fifth Street near Paris on Tuesday, according to the Logan County Sheriff’s Department.

Joseph Stapleton of Paris suffered multiple “points of trauma” to his head and torso, according to Sheriff Department’s Chief Investigator Deputy Ray Gack. Gack refused to say what caused the trauma but added “there were several shell casings” located around the body and that a nearby resident reported hearing “some gunfire, multiple rounds being fired” Monday evening.

“We do have some leads and we’re following up on them as we speak,” Sheriff Steve Smith said. “I’d say the leads are promising, and I think they can lead us to something.”

Stapleton lived in the home with his father, who is hospitalized, Gack said.

The body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory on Wednesday morning for an autopsy, Gack said.

“We’re treating this as a homicide until we know something different,” he said.

Gack said an individual came to the house around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to feed animals, discovered the body and called 911. Once deputies arrived, Gack said they secured the area and awaited a search warrant.

There was no sign of forced entry into the residence, which sits near the dead end of a dirt road, Gack said.

Gack asked that anyone having information about the case call the Logan County Sheriff’s Department at (479) 963-3271.